Donjon de Maurepas
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The Donjon de Maurepas is a ruined medieval castle in the town of Maurepas, in the French département of Yvelines (Île de France).
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[edit] History
Since the 8th century, the village of Maurepas (formerly spelled Malrepast) belonged to the Abbey of Saint-Denis. Facing the Normans invasions, they left the domain to the Lords of Chevreuse; the castle was given to the family of Malrepast. A wooden keep was replaced by a stronger castle.
During the Hundred Years' War, the Lords of Malrepast abandoned the castle; it was then used as a haunt by a band of plunderers. In 1425, the English captured and hanged all the occupants of the castle.
The castle was then occupied by Aymon de Massy, who was said to be a particularly cruel person. With Mainguet his companion, he was ransoming people, and some of them were thrown in a well when they couldn’t pay.
In 1432, september 11, the English took the castle to cleanse the area and dismantled it definitly[1].
After the war, the domain of Maurepas returned to the family of Chevreuse, but the castle had remained a ruin.
Today, only the keep, which is 20m high (60 feet), remains on a low motte. A farm leans on the ruins.
The keep has been listed by the French Ministry of Culture as a monument historique since 1926.
[edit] References
- ^ Journal d'un Bourgeois de Paris, 1405-1449, by Alexandre Tuetey, after the manuscripts of Rome and Paris, Paris, H. Champion, 1881
[edit] See also
- This article was initially translated from this Wikipedia article « fr:Maurepas (Yvelines) » , specifically from this version.